The House of Representatives is gathering evidence for an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump under the belief that aid to Ukraine was withheld for information on possible rival in the 2020 elections, former Vice President Joe Biden. On Sept. 24, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to investigate the allegations; following the inquiry, a slew of information has come about on the credibility of this accusation.
“The House of Representatives is trying to find evidence for an impeachment proceedings to then come into play in a trial by the Senate,” said Government teacher Erin Wise.
The White House, shorty after the announcement, responded by releasing a memorandum of one of the phone calls in question between President Trump and the President Zelensky of Ukraine. This memorandum raised suspicion.
In the call, released on the White House’s website, Trump urges Zelensky to investigate the 2016 election as well as Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in which some believe could be for political agendas and what Trump allegedly leveraged against Ukraine aid.
Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma Holdings, a major natural gas company within Ukraine that plays a large role in the country. It is suspected that this information would be wanted about him as it could possibly prove that whilst vice president, Joe Biden used his son as an influence on Ukraine.
Following this, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney stated to the “New York Times” in front of the White House that “I was involved in the process by which the money was held up temporarily,“ but he later retracted his statement.
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry resigned following rumors about his collaboration with Trump in dealings with Ukraine.
“The House has sent a subpoena for the records that we have,” said Perry on Fox Business Network.
The House of Representatives are taking this seriously including testimonies from those around them.
Yet President Trump and his supporters strongly disagree. “Neither he (Taylor) or any other witness has provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware that military aid was being withheld. You can’t have a quid pro quo with no quo. Congressman John Ratcliffe …Where is the Whistleblower? The Do Nothing Dems case is DEAD!” said President Trump in a tweet made on October 23, 2019.
Bill Taylor is the US Ambassador in dealings with Ukraine, who if provided testimony, could be pivotal in this case.
At this point in the inquiry, there is no solid evidence pointing in the direction of Trump withholding aid, but this will greatly affect the elections. The Trump campaign could be ruined, as well as the issue of Republicans might not backing him and Democrats using the inquiry to defame Trump and bolster their own campaign. This all depends on the House’s ability to garner evidence and the Senate wanting to either drag out the trial past elections to cast doubt or speed it up to affect elections more directly.